Effective Altruism: Implications for the Social Work Profession: Part II

The concept of effective altruism has been prominent in moral philosophy since 2009.Effective altruism is a philosophy and social movement which applies evidence and reason to determine the most effective ways to improve the world.The core tenets of effective altruism are remarkably consistent with social work's values and mission.Ironically, social work's literature does not include any in-depth discussion of effective altruism.Part I discussed the concept of effective altruism; identified its core components; and explored the relevance of effective altruism to social work's principal aims as defined by the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics.This article (Part II) focuses on two key elements of effective altruism as the concept pertains to social work: distributive justice and empiricism.To be fully implemented, effective altruism enhances the allocation of limited resources in a fair and just manner.Further, to